consultation statement - publication stage - harrogate … · 7.0 sites and policies dpd ......

HARROGATE DISTRICT SITES & POLICIES DPD

Consultation Statement: Publication Stage

May 2013

Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 DUTY TO CO‐OPERATE ............................................................................................................... 4

3.0 CONSULTATION.......................................................................................................................... 5

Who Did We Consult? ......................................................................................................................... 7

4.0 SITE ALLOCATIONS (HOMES AND JOBS) DPD............................................................................. 7

Issues Consultation (Summer 2004) ................................................................................................... 7

Issues and Options Consultation (June 2006)..................................................................................... 7

Methods of Consultation .................................................................................................................... 7

Preferred Options Consultation (Jan 2008) ....................................................................................... 8


Consultation Responses...................................................................................................................... 9

5.0 COMMUNITY SPORTS REGENERATION AREA ACTION PLAN ...................................................... 9

Issues Consultation (July 2006)........................................................................................................... 9

Issues and Options Consultation (Sept 2006) ..................................................................................... 9


Consultation Responses.................................................................................................................... 10

Preferred Options Consultation (Jan 2008) ...................................................................................... 10

Methods of Consultation .................................................................................................................. 11


6.0 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL POLICIES DPD ................................................................................. 12

Issues and Options Consultation (July 2007) .................................................................................... 12

Development Limits and Local Landscape Designations CONSULTATION (Jan 2008) ......................12

7.0 SITES AND POLICIES DPD.......................................................................................................... 12

Plan the Future with Us (Sept 2009) ................................................................................................ 12

Rural Areas Consultation (Oct 2010) ................................................................................................ 13



Summary of the Main Issues Raised ................................................................................................. 14

Urban Areas Consultation and District Wide Development Management Policies (Sept 2011)......17



Summary of the Main Issues Raised ................................................................................................. 18

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Addit ional Targeteed Consultattion (May 20012) ............. ........................................ ..............................21

21

22

22

22

22

23

23

24

24

24

Methods of Consuultation ....... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Consuultation Respponses......... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Summmary of Mainn Issues ........ ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Addit ional Targeteed Consultattion (Nov 20 12) .............. ........................................ ..............................

Methods of Consuultation ....... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Consuultation Respponses......... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Summmary of Mainn Issues Raiseed .................................... ........................................ ..............................

Otherr Communityy Engagemennt ..................................... ........................................ ..............................

Be a PPlanner for t he Day ........ ........................................ ........................................ ..............................

Gypsyy and Travell er Consultattion .................................. ........................................ ..............................

Greatter Ripon Impprovement PPartnership ((GRIP).......... ........................................ ..............................24

Sports Working G roup ........... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................24

8.0 Conclusion...................... ........................................ ........................................ ..............................24

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1.0 INTRODUCCTION

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.6

1.7

The planningg system reqquires Local PPlanning Autthorities to innvolve the wwider commuunity

including staakeholders aat an early staage in prepaaring Local Pl ans in orderr to achieve l ocal

ownership oof and legitimmacy for its ppolicies and pproposals.

This Publicattion Consult ation Statemment describees how Harr ogate Borouugh Council hhas

undertaken community participationn and stakehholder involv ement to pr oduce the Siites and

Policies Dev elopment Pl an Documennt (DPD). This statementt is required under Regullation 17

of the Town and Countryy Planning (LLocal Planninng) (England)) Regulationss 2012, whic h came

into force onn 6 April 20112. Regulatioon 17 requirees a statemeent setting ouut:

whicch bodies an d persons w ere invited tto make reprresentations under regul ation 18

howw those bodiees were invit ed to make representati ons; a su mmary of thhe main issuees raised by tthose repressentations; a nd

howw those main issues have been addresssed in the DDPD.

When produuction of the Sites and Poolicies DPD c ommenced, the relevannt regulation s were

the Town annd Country P lanning (Loc al Developmment)(England) Regulatio ns 2004. These

were subseqquently updaated in 2008 and 2009. I n April 2012 the new sett of Regulatioons were

issued. This means that the specific requiremen ts which refeer to produc tion of this

Consultationn Statement have changeed. The Reguulations refeer to the entiire process oof

preparing DPPD’s, howev er work und ertaken und er the previoous Regulati ons is still vaalid

although thee specific Reggulation (inccluding numbbers) may haave changed.. Under prevvious

regulations mmost of the wwork in prepparing the Loocal Plan wass referred to as Regulatioon 25

whereas thee 2012 Regul ations refer to the equivvalent stage aas Regulationn 18.

Consultationn on the Site s and Policiees DPD also ccomplies wit h the Counc il’s adopted

Statement oof Communitty Involvemeent (SCI) whicch was adop ted in April 22006 and setts out

how Harrogaate Borough Council inteended to invoolve the commmunity and stakeholderrs

through the preparationn of the Loca l Plan and DPPD’s www.haarrogate.govv.uk/LocalPlaan

A Sustainabiility Appraisaal is an essenntial componnent of the cuurrent Local Plan systemm and

where a Susstainability A ppraisal or SScoping Repoort was prep ared the connsultation prrocess

included connsultation onn these docuuments as weell as the ma in DPD docuuments.

It is importa nt to emphaasise that connsultation w as not just reestricted to tthe formal

consultationn periods higghlighted in tthis statemennt but has beeen continuoous since 20008 and

has includedd discussionss with landowwners, devel opers as we ll as ensuringg informatioon was

made availa ble on the C ouncil’s webbsite.

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2.0 DUTY TO CO‐OPERATE

2.1 The Borough Council, in preparing the Sites and Policies DPD, will need to demonstrate that

it has discharged the Duty to Co‐operate with Neighbouring Authorities under Section 110

of the Localism Act 2011. The Borough Council must work with neighbouring authorities and

North Yorkshire County Council as well as the following organisations on planning issues that

cross administrative boundaries, particularly those that relate to strategic priorities:

Environment Agency

Historic Buildings & Monuments Commission for England

Natural England

Civil Aviation Authority

Homes &Communities agency

Primary Care Trusts

Office of the Rail Regulator

Highways Agency

Integrated Transport Authorities

2.2 The Council has had on‐going dialogue with its neighbouring authorities and agreed a set of

actions and mitigation measures in response to key strategic cross boundary issues. A

separate report on the discharge of the Duty to Co‐operate requirement has been prepared

and can be found on the Council’s website. The remainder of this section provides a

summary of joint working and liaison that the Council has undertaken with neighbouring

authorities and other public bodies.

2.3 The Borough Council has worked closely with key stakeholders, service providers and

statutory agencies to ensure that future development is of the right amount, in the right

location and can be successfully delivered. In addition, some of these organisations have

submitted comments on the DPD and are represented on working groups.

2.4 The Borough Council has also been working closely with North Yorkshire County Council to

identify future education provision required to deliver the Sites and Policies DPD. The North

Yorkshire Local Transport Plan (LTP) is a jointly agreed strategy between North Yorkshire

County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to deliver transport infrastructure. The

Highways Agency and Primary Care Trust have also been engaged throughout the

development of the Sites and Policies DPD.

2.5 Harrogate Borough Council has also worked jointly with a number of authorities and key

organisations in preparing the evidence base for the DPD as shown in the following table:

DOCUMENT OTHER ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED

North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership (NYCC, Craven District Council, Hambleton District Council, Selby District Council, Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough

North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment Nov 2001

4

Council, City of York Council, North York Moors National Park, Yorkshire Dales National Park)

North Yorkshire Strategic Flood Risk Assessment 2010

Craven District Council, Richmondshire District Council, Environment Agency

Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment

Selby District Council

Habitat Regulations Assessment Natural England, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Infrastructure Delivery Plan North Yorkshire County Council, Yorkshire Water, PCT, Highways Agency

Harrogate and Knaresborough Traffic Model

North Yorkshire County Council

Leeds City Region Green Infrastructure Strategy 2011

Natural England, Leeds City Region Partnership (Local Authorities – Bradford, Barnsley, Calderdale, Craven, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield, York)

Yorkshire and Humber Green Infrastructure Mapping Project

Natural England

3.0 CONSULTATION

3.1 Between 2004 and 2008 the Council undertook a number of major public consultations on 3

of the 4 separate documents which were being prepared as part of the Local Development

Framework. These were the Site Allocations DPD, Development Control Policies DPD, and

Community Sports Regeneration Area Action Plan. Following the publication of new

guidelines (PPS12) on the preparation of Development Plans in 2008, the Council took the

decision to consolidate all the documents into one Sites and Policies DPD even though

preparation on 3 of these documents had already started and had reached different stages

of consultation under the old 2004 regulations. Consultation was not carried out on the

Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Plan prior to the decision to consolidate the documents.

The flow chart overleaf, shows the stages of consultation carried out for the preparation of

the Sites and Policies DPD and the earlier DPD’s.

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Who Did We Consult?

3.2 All of the consultations carried out as part of the preparation of the Site Allocations DPD,

Community Sports Regeneration Area Action Plan, Development Control Policies DPD and

the consolidated Sites and Policies DPD all targeted individuals, businesses, groups and

organisations listed on the Council’s consultation database. This list included specific and

general consultees and as set out in Appendix A of the Council’s Statement of Community

Involvement www.harrogate.gov.uk/LocalPlan . The consultee database is kept up to date to

enable the Council to carry out continuous consultation with the community throughout the

whole Local Plan preparation process and also enabled everybody who had commented on

previous consultation to be kept informed of future consultations. At March 2013, there

were 8783 consultees on the Local Plan database. The database also enables specific

consultees to be identified when focused consultation is needed on area or issue.

3.3 As detailed overleaf, three separate documents consolidated to become the Sites and

Policies DPD and this section briefly examines the consultation undertaken for these

documents and how the issues raised fed into the Sites and Policies DPD.

4.0 SITE ALLOCATIONS (HOMES AND JOBS) DPD

4.1 The aim of this DPD was to identify sufficient sites throughout the District to meet the

identified need for new housing and employment land up to the year 2021 and provide

guidelines on how and when the sites should be developed.

Issues Consultation (Summer 2004)

4.2 This was primarily concerned with the Core Strategy but also asked a number of questions

relating to the approach to be taken for housing allocations and whether there was a need

for the Council to consider extensions to the built up areas of the six main settlements. The

consultation documents can be viewed on www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Core‐

Strategy‐Archive.aspx

Issues and Options Consultation (June 2006)

4.3 The purpose of the Issues and Options stage was to gather information from the local

community, statutory bodies and interested parties on the options for potential housing and

employment sites throughout the District. The consultation documentation included a

number of sites suggested as having potential for development and also asked for

suggestions for new sites. The consultation ran from 9th June 2006 to 21st July 2006 and the

documentation can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Core‐Strategy‐

Archive.aspx

Methods of Consultation

Consultation Newspaper Newspaper delivered to households and businesses in the District.(Appendix)

Press Release Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers that covers the District

Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

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Public Exhibitions

were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website (see link above)

Public Exhibitions Held in Ripon and Harrogate Public Meetings Held in Ripon and Harrogate Contact with statutory bodies/key stakeholders

Statutory bodies contacted by letter or email and all the Infrastructure providers sent detailed forms to fill in

Contact with Parish Councils Parish Councils contacted by letter informing them of the consultation

Contact with Respondents to earlier consultations

All respondents contacted via letter or email informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation (Appendix)

Telephone / email A telephone contact number and dedicated email address provided the opportunity for members of the public to contact the planning policy team to discuss their thoughts and to ask questions regarding the content of the planning documents

Freepost Address A freepost address provided for return of consultation correspondence to encourage a greater response

4.4 There were 1772 responses from 1742 respondents to this consultation

Preferred Options Consultation (Jan 2008)

4.5 The Preferred Options consultation put forward the Council’s preferred site options for new

homes and jobs. This consultation ran from 18th Jan to 29th February 2008. The consultation

documents can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Archive‐

Consultations.aspx


Consultation Newspaper Newspaper delivered to households and businesses in the Harrogate District. (EXTRACT IN APPENDIX)

Site Notice Displayed at all the Preferred Option sites (Appendix) Press Release Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers that

covers the District Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website (Appendix) 7 public exhibitions held in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge, Masham and Tockwith during the consultation period (Appendix)

Contact with statutory bodies/key stakeholders

Statutory bodies contacted by letter or email and all the Infrastructure providers sent detailed forms to fill in for each Preferred Option


Contact with landowners All owners of land identified as a Preferred Option were informed of the consultation by letter.

Contact with Respondents from earlier All respondents contacted via letter or email

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consultations informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation (Appendix)



Consultation Responses

4.6 A total of 16,360 individual comments were received to this consultation from 1647

respondents. All of the comments were summarised and added to the consultation

database and can be viewed on www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Archive‐

Consultations.aspx . The comments received comprised of the following:

Support : 3696

Object : 10,947

Comment: 1717

5.0 COMMUNITY SPORTS REGENERATION AREA ACTION PLAN

Issues Consultation (July 2006)

5.1 A preliminary consultation was undertaken between 9 June and 21 July 2006. The purpose

of this consultation was to make people aware of the Council’s intention to prepare the Area

Action Plan and to ask interested parties what they saw as the constraints and opportunities

for increased sports provision in this area. There were approximately 500 comments to this

consultation and these and other issues arising were taken into account during the

formulation of the Issues and Options report.

Issues and Options Consultation (Sept 2006)

5.2 This consultation which took place between the 8th of September and 6th October 2006

sought views on 3 draft options for sport and recreation within the Bilton triangle,

Harrogate. It built on a preliminary consultation carried out as part of the preparation of the

Core Strategy where this area was identified as having potential for an integrated multi‐

purpose sports facility and the opportunities and constraints were investigated. The

documentation for this consultation can be found at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐

Archive‐Consultations.aspx


Leaflet Delivered to every household in the AAP area. Site Notice Displayed at locations within the AAP area Press Release Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers

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Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms ‐Appendix) were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website

Public Exhibitions Held at Harrogate Hockey Club, Claro Road – 21/09/2006

Public Meeting Held at Harrogate Hockey Club, Claro Road – 21/09/2006


Statutory bodies contacted by letter or email and with consultation documentation attached.

Contact with Respondents All respondents contacted via letter or email informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation (Appendix)



Working Party Working party consisting of elected members, sports representatives, local residents


5.3 Approximately 850 individual comments were received to the consultation. The

representations received offer both support and objection to the Council’s three options and

also introduced various alternative options. A copy of the key issues raised can be found in

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Archive‐Consultations.aspx

5.4 A working party was set up comprising landowners, residents, sports clubs, other interested

parties and stakeholders and the consultations and meetings of this working party identified

the following main issues that were considered particularly important:

The need for sporting facilities

Alternative locations for sports facilities

The provision of sports facilities in this area

Traffic/Access

Impact on the environment

Impact on residential amenity

Planning policy and procedures

Delivery of sports facilities

Preferred Options Consultation (Jan 2008)

5.5 This consultation took place between 18th Jan 2008 and 29th February 2008 and offered the

Council’s preferred option for the use of the land in the AAP area.

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Consultation Newspaper Newspaper delivered to households and businesses in the District.(Extract found in Appendix)

Site Notice Displayed at all the Preferred Option sites Press Release Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website

Public Exhibitions 7 public exhibitions held in Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge, Ripon, Tockwith, Harrogate, Knaresborough and Masham and an AAP specific exhibition at Harrogate Hockey Club. (Appendix)




Contact with Respondents All respondents contacted via letter or email informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation Also contacted those respondents who submitted comments on Policy C31 of the Core Strategy.

Telephone / email A telephone contact number and dedicated email address which provided the opportunity for members of the public to contact members of the planning policy team to discuss their thoughts and to ask questions regarding the content of the planning documents



5.6 A total of 334 individual comments were received to this consultation. All of the comments

were summarised and added to the consultation database and can be viewed at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Archive‐Consultations.aspx . The comments received

comprised of the following:

Support ‐ 129

Object ‐ 118

Comment ‐ 87

1 This policy recommended the allocation of the land at the Bilton triangle for Community Sports within the

Core Strategy but was deleted by the Inspector at the Examination.

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6.0 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL POLICIES DPD

Issues and Options Consultation (July 2007)

6.1 A public consultation on this DPD took place over an 8 week period between Friday 20 July

and Friday 14 September 2007. At this time the Council invited the community and

stakeholders to submit representations in response to the scope and policy options set out

in the Issues and Options consultation. Three public meetings were also held in Ripon,

Knaresborough and Harrogate to discuss the document and to answer any questions.

6.2 The consultation documents are available to view on www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐

Archive‐Consultations.aspx

Development Limits and Local Landscape Designations CONSULTATION (Jan 2008)

6.3 The purpose of this consultation which ran from Friday 18th January 2008 to Friday 29th

February 2008 was to seek views on the draft development limits which had been drawn

round all the Category A, B and C settlements in the District and also draft extensions to

Green Wedges and changes associated with Special Landscape Areas. This consultation was

part of the same consultation which included the Site Allocations Preferred options and

Community Sports Area Action Plan Preferred Options and therefore employed the same

methods of consultation as described above. The consultation documentation can be found

on www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Archive‐Consultations.aspx

7.0 SITES AND POLICIES DPD

7.1 The Sites and Policies DPD builds on and adds more detail to the objectives and strategic

policies set out in the adopted Core Strategy. It will allocate suitable and deliverable sites to

meet the identified need for housing and employment for the period to 2024. It will include

policies to protect the character and heritage of the District and ensure development is of an

appropriate type, scale and design and will be the starting point for the determination of

planning applications in the District.

Plan the Future with Us (Sept 2009)

7.2 Further to the decision to prepare a single Sites and Policies DPD , consultation was carried

out in Sept/Oct 2009 on the scope and content of the policies. The consultation provided

details of the proposed scope of each of the policies and asked for a response to two

questions:

Are there any policies or proposals listed that are unnecessary, inappropriate, or lacking

in substance ?

Are there other policies/proposals that should be included in the Sites and Policies DPD?

7.3 This was considered necessary as previous consultation had only been on the 3 previous

documents and views were needed on the scope of this DPD. The consultation also

informed the community about how they could contribute to the preparation of the DPD in

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the future as it detailed a number of working groups/focus groups which would consider

specific issues of the DPD and asked for expressions of interest to join these groups. The

consultation documents and the summary of responses can be viewed at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Policy‐Consult.aspx

7.4 Officers from across the Council were also invited to attend an informal workshop in April

2011 to discuss the form and content of the policies.

Rural Areas Consultation (Oct 2010)

7.5 This consultation covered all the Group B and C settlements as identified by Policy SG2 of

the Core Strategy and was carried out in October/November 2010. The consultation ran for

8 weeks between 1 October and 26 November 2010 and detailed the Council’s Preferred

Options for housing and employment sites in these towns and villages. The consultation

documentation can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Rural‐Areas‐

Consult.aspx


7.6 A full and varied range of consultation techniques were applied, involving statutory bodies,

local representatives and residents. The methods of consultation used are described in

more detail below:

Consultation Newspaper Four area specific newspapers distributed by Royal Mail to households and businesses covered by the Group B and C settlements (30,500 in total) showing all the Preferred Option sites in those settlements and information on where to find out more and how to respond (Appendix)

Site Notice Displayed at all the Preferred Option sites (Appendix)

Press Release Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms

‐ Appendix) were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website

Public Exhibitions 7 public exhibitions held in Boroughbridge, Killinghall, Great Ouseburn, Green Hammerton, Pateley Bridge, Pannal and Masham during the consultation period



Contact with Parish Councils Parish Councils contacted by letter informing them of the consultation (Appendix)

Contact with Respondents All respondents contacted via letter or email informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation (Appendix)


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7.7 A total of 8922 individual comments were received from 1060 respondents. All of the

comments were summarised and added to the consultation database. The comments

received comprised of the following:

Support ‐ 2297

Object ‐ 4203

Comment ‐ 2422

Summary of the Main Issues Raised

7.8 The comments received can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Rural‐Areas‐

Consult.aspx . Following the closure of the consultation, the sites were reassessed in the

light of comments received. The Council analysed all comments received and any additional

evidence supplied and a summary of the key issues for each site and officer response for

each site can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Consultation‐

Statement.aspx . This further assessment led to some preferred options not being taken

forward as draft allocations and some sites becoming draft allocations that had not

previously been identified as such. The table overleaf sets out the main changes from the

Preferred Options to the publication stage and why they were made. The Draft allocations

are those highlighted.

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Site Settlement Preferred Options Status

Change and Reason

RL1109 Burton Leonard Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as the site is no longer available.

RL3040 Burton Leonard Preferred Option


RL3032a Burton Leonard Rejected Identify as draft allocation. Site was previously rejected because Preferred Option RL3040 performed better against the selection methodology.

RL98 Darley Rejected Identify as draft allocation as the previously identified access issue has been resolved.

RL113 Darley Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation . Whilst previously mitigation was considered, development here would result in harm to the character of the settlement.

RL1064c Great Ouseburn New Site The Council’s sustainability appraisal indicates that development on this site would perform poorly against environmental objectives. However no other constraints have been identified. Whilst development of a larger area (RL1064b) would have resulted in harm to the character of the settlement, development of this smaller area is not considered to have the same level of harm subject to development respecting the approach to the village and landscape setting of the wider and with appropriate screen planting. There was sufficient flexibility in meeting the dwelling requirement for the villages and countryside at the preferred options stage to mean that the boundary of RL1064b could be amended to reduce the site size in response to concerns raised that the scale of proposed growth was too large.

P5a Pateley Bridge

Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as the harm caused to the character of the settlement is not warranted given that even with this site the number for the settlement cannot be delivered.

RL1084a Birstwith Preferred Option

Not identified as a draft allocation as there is currently a deficiency of open space in the village and this site performs an open space function.

RL99a Darley Preferred Option

Not identified as a draft allocations because consultation has revealed the need to buffer the foul sewer that would restrict the yield and options for layout.

RL1091 Kirkby Malzeard Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as planning permission has been granted on this site.

RL1009 Killinghall Preferred Option

Not identified as a draft allocation to reflect concerns that the total yield from the three preferred options in the village was too large.

RL117 Bishop Monkton Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as the site is no longer available for that use.

RL1153 Dishforth Preferred Option


RL1046 Goldsborough Preferred Option


RL3042 Kirk Deighton Preferred Option


RL3046 Lofthouse Preferred Option


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RL29a Long Marston Preferred Option


RL1010b Melmerby Preferred Option

Adjacent site recently granted permission and additional land not recommended

RL3025 Scotton Preferred Option






RL553 Skelton on Ure Preferred Option


RL2016 Skelton on Ure Preferred Option


RL1145 Sicklinghall Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as planning permission has been granted on this site. Shown as a commitment on the Proposals Map

RL3036 Hampsthwaite Preferred Option

Sufficient flexibility in meeting the dwelling requirement for the villages and countryside at the preferred options stage to mean that the boundary of this site could be amended to reduce the site size in response to concerns raised that the scale of proposed growth was too large.

RL3039(1) Green Hammerton

Preferred Option

Sufficient flexibility in meeting the dwelling requirement for the villages and countryside at the preferred options stage to mean that the boundary of this site could be amended to reduce the site size in response to concerns raised that the scale of proposed growth was too large.

RL113 Darley Preferred Option

Whilst mitigation was considered in selecting this site as a preferred option, development here would result in some harm to the character of the settlement. There is now a better performing site when assessed against the selection methodology (RL98) that can satisfy the development needs of the village

RL98 Darley Rejected Site performed slightly better against the environmental objectives of the sustainability appraisal than either of the preferred options (RL99a/RL113) but a development constraint (access) was for the site. This issue has now been resolved.

RL99a Darley Preferred Option

Consultation has revealed the need to buffer the foul sewer that would restrict the yield and options for layout

RL2073b Pannal Preferred Option

Given the decision to include a mixed use scheme at Dunlopillo there is no compelling reason to retain this site as a draft allocation in order to meet the housing requirement. The Dunlopillo site is a brownfield site and re‐development is considered preferable to this greenfield site.

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Urban Areas Consultation and District Wide Development Management Policies (Sept 2011)

7.9 This consultation covered the towns of Harrogate, Knaresborough and the City of Ripon and

was carried out from 9 Sept to 4 Nov 2011. The consultation ran for 8 weeks and identified

the Preferred Options for housing and employment sites within these settlements. District

wide development management policies were also consulted on. As well as the Sites and

Policies, this consultation welcomed comments on the following documents, all of which can

be found at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐Areas‐Consult.aspx and

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Policy‐Consult.aspx

Sustainability Appraisal

Sports, Recreation, Open Space and Village Hall Study

Homes for Local People SPD

Renewable and Low Carbon Energy SPD

Habitats Regulations Assessment

Harrogate and Knaresborough Cycling Implementation Plan


7.10 A full and varied range of consultation techniques were applied, involving statutory bodies,

local representatives and residents. The methods of consultation used for both the sites and

policies are described in more detail below and in the Rural Areas Appendix:

Leaflet Leaflet setting out a summary of the policies, links to the urban areas consultation, and information on where to find out more and how to respond. Delivered to households and businesses in the District excluding those in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon (16,000 in total) (Appendix)

Site Notices Displayed at all the Preferred Option sites (Appendix) Consultation Newspaper Newspapers distributed by Royal Mail to households

and businesses in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon (50,500 in total) showing all the Preferred Option sites in those settlements, a summary of the development management policies and information on where to find out more and how to respond Appendix

Targeted Leaflet Leaflet distributed to the residents and businesses of Melmerby detailing a specific employment allocation not consulted on before. Appendix

Newspaper Article Article in the Advertiser series of newspapers Appendix

Press Release Press release distributed to local newspapers Availability of Documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website Appendix

Public Exhibitions 6 public exhibitions (2 in Harrogate, 2 in Knaresborough and 2 in Ripon)during the consultation period


Statutory bodies contacted by letter or email and all the Infrastructure providers sent detailed forms to

17

fill in for each Preferred Option Contact with Parish Councils Parish Councils contacted by letter informing them of

the consultation Appendix Contact with Respondents All respondents contacted via letter or email

informing them of the consultation and how they can view the documents and respond to the consultation Appendix




7.11 A total of 21,146 individual comments were received from 1924 respondents. All of the

comments were summarised and added to a database. The comments received comprised

of the following:

Support : 5540

Object : 11081

Comment : 4525

Summary of the Main Issues Raised

7.12 The comments received can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐Areas‐

Consult.aspx and www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Policy‐Consult.aspx . Following the

closure of the consultation, the sites were reassessed in the light of comments received.

The Council analysed all comments received and any additional evidence supplied and a

summary of the key issues for each site and officer response for each site can be viewed at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐Consultation‐Statement.aspx .This further

assessment led to some preferred options not being taken forward as draft allocations and

some sites becoming draft allocations that had not previously been identified as Preferred

Options. Changes were also made to the boundary and/or dwelling yield of some of the

sites. The table overleaf sets out the main changes from the Preferred Options to the

publication stage and why they were made.

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Site Settlement Preferred Options Status

Change and Reason

H1022 Harrogate Preferred Option



Not identified as draft allocation as planning permission has been granted on this site. Will be identified as a commitment.



H105(1) Harrogate Preferred Option


H4007 Harrogate New Site Identify as draft allocation. Site has become surplus to requirements since the preferred options consultation. (see Additional Consultation below)


Not identified as draft allocation as a consequence of issues in respect of overall housing numbers in this area.

H4a(1) Harrogate Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as a consequence of issues in respect of overall housing numbers in this area.




Not identified as draft allocation as site is not one of the better performing ones and the land owner has not confirmed availability.

H74a Harrogate Preferred Option

In taking a decision to include this site in the Draft Plan it was agreed that the mix of uses would comprise 120 dwellings, 2.5ha of employment land, park & ride, and local retail facility.


Not identified as draft allocation as the Core Strategy requirement plus buffer can be accommodated on better performing sites.


Site yield has been reduced to reflect Highway Authority concerns about the level of housing being promoted in this area.

K2b(2) Knaresborough Preferred Option

Two growth options were put forward for the area but this larger option was discounted in favour of the smaller site K2b.

K4001 Knaresborough New Site Identify as draft allocation. Site is a brownfield town centre site. K9(1) Knaresborough Preferred

Option Not identified as draft allocation due to potential impact on Bond End.

K2b Knaresborough Preferred Option

Reduce employment element from 5ha to 2.5ha

R42a Ripon Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as access issues provided too much uncertainty.

R7 Ripon Preferred Option

Not identified as draft allocation as the Core Strategy requirement plus buffer can be accommodated on better performing sites.

R17 Ripon Preferred Option

In determining the content of the Publication Draft Plan, the Council gave more weight to the desirability of retaining land in employment use. This site offers the opportunity to provide work space for smaller businesses and new start‐up businesses and should be retained in that use.

7.13 The table overleaf sets out the main changes (excluding minor wording changes) to the

policies between the Preferred Options consultation and the Draft Publication stage.

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Policy Change

SD1 Policy included due to publication of NPPF. SG6 List of sites amended to reflect draft allocations

Explanation as to the phasing of the chosen allocations added to the justification for clarity. Reference added to justification that 200 dwellings represent the minimum number for an urban

extension. Deletion of reference to the three phases of housing site release and replaced by a general phasing

statement. Cross reference to Policy HLP7 in “Related Planning Policies” section added to give clarity regarding

viability of sites. Include housing trajectory

SG7 No substantial changes SG8 Added Criterion – “The existing building is not of architectural or historic interest nor does it make a

positive contribution to the landscape character of the area” Amended development limit change to include a site at Knaresborough Road, Bishop Monkton Amended development limit in the Beeches Farm, Ripon area

SG9 Justification amended to refer to the important role green infrastructure plays in alleviating flooding. Added more reference to Sequential Testing Reference added to level 2 SFRA

SG10 Reference to ground stability connected to mining history added to the justification. HLP6 List of sites amended to reflect draft allocations

Reference to Appendix D – developer guidelines HLP7 Reference to Financial Viability Assessments added to the justification.

Justification amended to include reference to Core Strategy Policy SG3 Justification amended to include reference to the need to submit a Financial Viability Appraisal in those

cases where achieving 50% affordable housing will adversely affect the deliverability of the site. JB5 List of draft allocations amended

Justification amended to reflect amount of employment land allocated List of Development Guidelines added to justification which all development must meet.

JB6 Policy amended to include reference to applications relating to the expansion of existing firms List of marketing information required added to the justification Reference to the expansion of existing firms added to the justification

JB7 Extended the Primary Shopping Frontage at Castlegate, Knaresborough Included an additional group of shops within the local centre of Starbeck Include reference in the policy to all applicants for change of use of A1 premises having to demonstrate

that they considered all alternative premises last in non‐Class A1 use Justification amended to include list of marketing information required for change of use of A1

premises applications Justification amended to include reference to a primary shopping frontages exception relating to

buildings of architectural or historic interest JB8 Marketing period to be change from 12 months to 2 years JB9 No substantial change TRA4 Reference added in the justification to the SPD that will be prepared TRA5 The need to take into account any policies set in the NYCC Parking Strategy, local car ownership levels,

need to provide oil interceptors in drainage schemes and the use of SUDs added to the policy Justification amended to provide information on the North Yorkshire County Council Parking Strategy,

park and ride, car ownership levels and drainage schemes.

EQ3 Removed the major developed sites in the Green Belt from Policy EQ3 EQ4 The World Heritage Buffer Zone omitted from the list of designated assets

Additional area of land included within the Buffer Zone Amended last sentence to clarify that pre‐application advice can be sought Expanded the justification relating to the WHS to note that the harm to the significance of it should be

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wholly exceptional. EQ5 Included reference to archaeological protection

Spa waters to be included Amended justification to reference that development in close proximity should look to improve links

between the site and wider green infrastructure Justification amended to include need to submit a Heritage Statement with all applications affecting a

heritage asset or its setting Justification amended to include information on archaeology, built assets associated with Spa waters

and development type EQ6 Development which would prejudice the use of the District’s spa waters will not be permitted EQ7 Reference added to the fact that planning permission will be refused for major development other

than exceptional circumstances where it can be demonstrated it would be in the public good Reference included to the loss of tress and woodland

C4 Sites HS2a, HS6a, HS6, HS7 and KS3a to be allocated as new sports, open space and recreational facilities sites.

Deleted paragraph 7.8 from the justification Provided more clarification on the first two criteria of the policy Added reference in the justification to the potential need for pre‐application consultation

C5 Provided more information in the justification on when a replacement facility would be considered acceptable.

Justification amended to provide more information on the catchment area referred to in criterion b) C6 Added reference in the justification to the potential need for pre‐application consultation C7 No substantial Changes IN1 No substantial Changes IN2 No substantial Changes IN3 No substantial Changes IN4 No substantial Changes

Additional Targeted Consultation (May 2012)

7.14 This consultation covered an additional Preferred Option housing site at the Police Training

College, Harrogate and a re‐location site for the Cathedral Choir School, Ripon as well as a

boundary change to the proposed buffer zone and associated draft policy for the World

Heritage site at Fountains Abbey. None of these had been out for public consultation

before. The consultation ran from 13th April 2012 to 25th May 2012 and the consultation

documentation can be viewed at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐Areas‐

Consult.aspx


Letter To all statutory consultees including those people who responded to previous consultations, Parish Councils, Residents Groups and Elected Members Appendix

Press Notice In the Advertiser series of newspapers Appendix Press Release Distributed to local newspapers Availability of documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

Appendix were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website

Site Notices Displayed at the Police Training College, Harrogate and the Ripon Choir School site

Targeted Leaflet Delivered to residents and businesses adjacent and

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near to the two sites setting out site boundary, developer guidelines (H4007 only) and information on where to find out more and how to respond. Appendix

Telephone/Email A telephone contact number and dedicated email address provided the opportunity for members of the public to contact the planning policy team to discuss their thoughts and to ask questions regarding the content of the planning documents



7.15 A total of 168 responses were received and they were split as follows;

Police Training College, Harrogate

Ripon Choir School WHS Buffer Zone

Support 46 14 25 Objection 57 24 2

Summary of Main Issues

7.16 A summary of the key issues and officer response for each site can also be viewed at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐Areas‐Consult.aspx . Following the closure of the

consultation, the sites were reassessed. The Council analysed all comments received and

any additional evidence supplied. This detailed assessment resulted in the following;

Site Change and Reason Police Training Centre (H4007)

Include as a Draft Allocation

Ripon Choir School (R4b) Site no longer to be considered due to the Choir School no longer wanting to re‐locate

WHS Buffer Zone Adopt the buffer zone unchanged.

Additional Targeted Consultation (Nov 2012)

7.17 This consultation covered the Lido Leisure Park Site, Knaresborough which Council was

minded to include as a draft allocation subject to additional consultation. The consultation

ran from 16th November 2012 to 11th January 2013.


Letter To all statutory consultees including those people who responded to previous consultations, Parish Councils, Residents Groups and Elected Members

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Appendix Press Notice In the Advertiser series of newspapers Appendix Press Release Distributed to local newspapers Availability of documents Consultation documents (including response forms)

Appendix were made available for inspection in Council Offices, libraries and on website

Site Notices Displayed at the Lido Leisure Park Appendix Targeted Leaflet Delivered to residents and businesses adjacent and

near to the site setting out site boundary, developer guidelines and information on where to find out more and how to respond. Also included a delivery of leaflets round the caravans on the site. Appendix

Telephone/Email A telephone contact number and dedicated email address provided the opportunity for members of the public to contact the planning policy team to discuss their thoughts and to ask questions regarding the content of the planning documents


Online Questionnaire An online questionnaire was available to fill in to try and encourage a greater response.


7.18 A total of 1232 individual comments were received from 338 respondents and they were

split as follows;

Support ‐ 65

Objection – 1117

Comment ‐ ‐ 50

Summary of Main Issues Raised

7.19 A summary of the key issues raised for this site for the site can be found at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐Areas‐Consult.aspx .Following the closure of the

consultation the site was reassessed and this resulted in the following change:

Site Change and Reason Lido Leisure Park, Knaresborough (K3006 (1))

Reject as a Draft Allocation

Manse Farm (K2b) Extend site boundary, increase capacity to 700 dwellings

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Other Community Engagement

Be a Planner for the Day

7.20 ‘Be a Planner for a Day’ was a facilitated event undertaken on 11th November 2012 in

preparation for the identification of the Preferred Options for housing in Harrogate and

Knaresborough. 120 people attended the event including resident, councillors, industry

representatives, infrastructure providers and interest groups and were given the

opportunity to join in with the debate about how we can best plan for growth in the two

towns. The Report of the day and details of the sites suggested can be found at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Planner‐for‐a‐Day.aspx

Gypsy and Traveller Consultation

7.21 Targeted consultation in the form of an informal workshop was also carried out with local

Gypsies and Travellers in order to enable the identification of preferred areas of search for

future provision. Planning Aid and the North Yorkshire Gypsy and Traveller Officer

facilitated the meeting. 7 people attended and the minutes of the meeting can be found at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐EvidenceBase.aspx

Greater Ripon Improvement Partnership (GRIP)

7.22 Targeted consultation in the form of an informal workshop was also carried out with the

Greater Ripon Improvement Partnership to discuss key policies for the central area of Ripon

and the relevant documentation can be found at www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/Urban‐

Areas‐Consult.aspx

Sports Working Group

7.23 A Sports Working Group was also established as part of the Sites and Policies DPD on‐going

consultation. The group which consists of councillors, council offices, representatives from

Sport Regional Bodies and local clubs has met 5 times since the first meeting in November

2009 with the remit of discussing all issues associated with ‘Planning for Sport in Harrogate,

Knaresborough and Ripon’. Papers and minutes of these meetings can be found at

www.harrogate.gov.uk/plan/Pages/LP‐EvidenceBase.aspx

8.0 Conclusion

8.1 The Council considers that it has carried out comprehensive consultation exercises over the

preparation period for the Sites and Policies DPD that have enabled a variety of consultees

to become involved in the preparation of the document. All formal consultation periods

have followed the processes set out in the Council’s adopted Statement of Community

Involvement and been in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local

Planning)(England) 2012.

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